Royal Ontario Museum Department of Museum Volunteers Gallery … Japanese Inro Ojime... · 2011-09-03 · Horses – Chinese The Chinese also loved horses and in the early years horses

Revised: October 6, 2007 Page 1 of 4

Royal Ontario MuseumDepartment of Museum Volunteers

Gallery Interpreters

Information Sheet

Inro, Ojime, and Netsuke

Handling Instructions

Caution Level: DurableGI Handling: Use GlovesVisitor Handling: Use GlovesPackaging: Plastic CaseTransporting: Carry Bag RequiredReal or Reproduction: Modern but Real – Dragon Inro, Ojime, and Netsuke

Reproduction – Horse Netsuke

1. What is it? What do these Words Mean?

INRO – (pronounced een-roh) are small, tiered containers made mainly of lacquered wood and bound together with abraided cord and secured by a bead (ojime). They were originally used to carry powdered medicines and later wereused for smoking equipment, writing cases and similar articles. Men wore the inro as an accessory suspended by acord from the Obi (sash) of a kimono as the kimono did not have pockets.

OJIME – (pronounced oh-jee-may) is a bead that secures the inro. It is usually made from the same material as theinro and most often contains the same carved design.

NETSUKE – a netsuke (pronounced net-skay) is an intricate hand carved miniature sculpture used as a toggle toprevent the inro from slipping. The netsuke is attached at the top end of the cord of the inro to prevent the inro fromslipping. Netsukes are carved from materials such as wood, horn, ivory, bone, metal, lacquer and bamboo anddisplay an endless variety of subject matter and often a sense of humour.

2. What is it made of? What is Available?

Two hands-on objects are available.

HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS – PLEASE WEAR GLOVES

NETSUKE – a modern reproduction, from ROM Reproductions Shop, scaled down in size from the original. Theoriginal is on display in the Prince Takamado Gallery of Japan, and is carved from ivory. The reproduction is made ofbrass metal, then gold-plated.

INRO with NETSUKE and OJIME - a modern manufacture - is a dragon in a cloud design with a 3 compartment inrocarved from boxwood, purchased from a California dealer on EBAY.

3. History

The Japanese originally borrowed the practice of inro and netsuke from the Chinese about 350 years ago during theTokugawa period (1603-1868). Originally utilitarian and primitive in design, the Japanese developed an art formnever envisioned by the Chinese. During the Tokugawa period, the members of the newly risen merchant class,ranking below the samurai, were not permitted to wear jewelry - therefore inro, netsuke, and ojime took the place ofpersonal adornment and were an indispensable item of dress. As Western dress became more popular, the use of


inro and netsuke declined during the Meiji period (1868 – 1912). Collecting inro and netsuke became popular in the19th and 20th centuries.

4. Other details

Typically, a netsuke is approximately 4 centimeters (1½ inches) tall and between 2 centimeters (4/5 inches) and 9centimeters (3½ inches) wide, with a different design. The subject matter would range from vegetables and animalsto deities, folktale characters and supernatural beings.

Originally, netsuke were carved from boxwood, then during the first ½ of the 18th century, were carved in various kindsof ivory. During the latter part of the 18th century, netsuke makers were creating different methods on lacquer andwood. Even very small ivory carvings were inlaid in this manner.

Inro are generally oval or cylindrical and usually measure 5 centimeters (2 inches) in width and 6.4 centimeters (2.5inches) to 10 centimeters (4 inches) in length. They may have 2 to 5 compartments that are fitted into each other andheld together by silken cords running along each side, secured by a bead (ojime) and kept from slipping through thekimono sash by a netsuke, a small carved object at the end of the cords. Early inro were usually covered with plainblack lacquer. By the middle of the 17th century, more elaborate techniques of carved, painted and gold lacquer woodwere used.

5. Subject Matter

Horses - Japanese

The horse has figured prominently in Japanese history since time immemorial. In early barbaric times importantpossessions, horses and servants were buried alive with deceased royalty. Later, clay figures were buried assubstitutes for their living counterparts. These clay figures are known as “haniwa”. Many shrines kept a sacred whitehorse. It was worshipped as a symbol of the ancient Shinto ritual of confession and purification. They were wellgroomed, beautifully bridled, adorned with coloured and gold ornaments and led by anciently-attired attendants at thehead of shrine festival processions. The wealthy donated to the shrine and the common people who could not affordlive horses gave paintings of horses. These paintings were framed on 5 sided wooden tablets known as ema.

Horse is the 7th year of the 12 year zodiac calendar. If your birth year is the first year (the year of the rat) then the 7 th

year after one’s birth year is considered lucky. Women born in the 1st year of the horse, cycle of fire, known as the firehorse year are considered husband devourers and marriage for them is difficult to arrange, especially in countrydistricts. The popular superstition is that husbands married to women born in the Fire Horse Year are fated to dieyoung. Fortunately the fire horse year only occurs once every 60 years.

Horses – Chinese

The Chinese also loved horses and in the early years horses and servants were also buried alive with the deceasedroyalty. But as early as 247 BC, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty started building his mausoleum at the age of 13and when he died in 210 BC his site was full of Terracotta warriors and horses. These were discovered in 1974 andare now a tourist attraction.

The beautiful horses known as Heavenly horses were first introduced into China from Uzbekistan during the HanDynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), and earthenware horses were found in burial sites of persons of high rank. Thesehorses were much larger and stronger than the native Chinese horses of Mongolia and only people of royal or noblerank could own them.

Dragons

The word dragon comes from the Greek drakon, a word for any large serpent. In the West, dragons were consideredevil creatures generally.

The Japanese dragon represents the supreme enemy of nature and power. The dragon as a rain giver refreshes theearth bringing happiness and prosperity to humanity. The Japanese dragon has only three claws.

The Chinese dragon has four or five claws – a 4 claw dragon is a symbol for a high-ranking court official and a 5 clawis associated only with the Emperor and his immediate family.


In the Far East, the dragon managed to retain its prestige and is known as a beneficent creature. The Chinesedragon represented yang, the principle of heaven, activity, and maleness in the yin-yang of Chinese cosmology.From ancient times, it was the emblem of the Imperial family, and until the founding of the republic (1911) the dragonadorned the Chinese flag. Chinese dragons, though regarded as powers of the air, are usually wingless. They areamong the deified forces of nature in Daoism.

In Chinese mythology, the dragon is a majestic beast that dwells in rivers, lakes, and oceans and roams the skies.Originally a rain divinity, the Chinese dragon, unlike its malevolent European counterpart, is associated with heavenlybeneficence and fecundity. Rain rituals as early as the 6th century BC involved a dragon image animated by aprocession of dancers; similar dances are still practiced in traditional Chinese communities to secure good fortune.

Ancient Chinese cosmogonists defined four types of dragons: the Celestial Dragon, who guards the heavenlydwellings of the gods; the Dragon of Hidden Treasure; the Earth Dragon, who controls the waterways; and theSpiritual Dragon, who controls the rain and winds. In popular belief, only the latter two were significant; they weretransformed into the Dragon Kings, gods who lived in the four oceans, delivered rain, and protected seafarers.

Generally depicted as a four-legged animal with a scaled, snake-like body, horns, claws, and large, demonic eyes, thedragon was considered the king of animals, and its image was appropriated by Chinese emperors as a sacred symbolof imperial power.

6. Where to use the Objects?

In the Prince Takamado Gallery of Japan – near the back. There is a case that has many inro, netsuke and ojime.Compare it to the Chinese snuff bottle. There is a large collection of snuff bottles on the north wall of the entrance tothe Asian suite of galleries called Sir Edmund Osler Gate. Compare the artistic values, the uses, how worn, and howmade with the snuff bottle.

Use in the Chinese section, the Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Gallery, Tang Dynasty to compare the importance ofhorses to the Chinese and Japanese. You can also talk about Tri-Colour Glazed Ware called Tang San Cai in thisgallery. A separate Information Sheet is available on Tri-Colour Glazed Ware.

7. What’s on Display in the Prince Takamado Gallery of Japan?

Inro with horse motif which is made of lacquered wood with maki-e (a “scattered” or sprinkled gold paintingtechnique); an ojime made of bronze and a netsuke with a horse motif made of ivory, dated 1700’s to early 1800’s.

Inro with butterflies and dragonflies made of lacquered wood with maki-e and mother of pearl inlay, ojime with plumtree design made of copper alloy and netsuke in the shape of a beehive made of wood and ivory. 1700’s to 1800’s.

Netsuke in the form of a Kappa, late 1700’s, made of wood and ivory. Kappa are imaginary amphibious creaturessaid to inhabit the marshes and waterholes. They attack horses and people, especially children who disobeywarnings about swimming in kappa-infested waters. In this netsuke, the kappa is pre-occupied with transporting acucumber, the vegetable they like to eat when not dining on livers of their victims. This is why the cucumber and ricewrapped in seaweed at sushi bars is called a “kappa maki”. The kappa can rotate his arm joints a full 360 degrees asshown in this netsuke; leg joints are equally flexible. Most kappa are about the same height as a 12 year old humanchild. They are generally thought to have a slippery body, covered with blue-green scales, and webbed feet andhands, and emit a fishy odour. They retain their power only as long as the saucer-like indentation on the top of thehead is filled with water when on land. Humans can make them powerless by bowing politely to them, for despite theiroccasional viciousness, kappa are mannerly and invariably return the bow therefore spilling the water from theirheads. (“Japan in the Palm of your Hands”, Hugh Wylie, Rotunda, Spring, 1988).

Netsuke in the form of Fukurokuju, one of the seven lucky gods, made in the 1800’s of ivory.

Source: The Wonderful World of Netsuke by Raymond Bushell, Copyright in Japan 1964 by Charles E. Tuttle Co. Ltd. -1986 edition. Found in DMV library.

Source: Previous Gallery Interpreter Information Sheets, and recent Museum Guide scripts.


Horse Netsuke

Dragon in a Cloud Inro, Ojime, and Netsuke

Inro on Display in the GalleryNote the original horse netsuke




Inro, Ojime and Netsuke

Questions & Answers

For the Inro, Ojime, and Netsuke Dragon in a Cloud

1. What is this made from?

Carved wood – boxwood.

2. There are 2 stacked containers with a lid. What could you use this for?

Storage of small items.

3. How might a Japanese person have used this?

For storage. Explain the ‘system’, and how it was used by Japanese men. Give the names of thepieces – inro, ojime, and netsuke.

4. What kinds of things might have been stored in the inro?

Powdered medicines. Later, smoking equipment, snuff (compare to Chinese snuff bottles), writingequipment.

5. What is the image on the inro?

Dragon – design is called Dragon in a Cloud.

6. Why were dragons important symbols?

Rain givers – refreshes the earth bringing happiness and prosperity to humans. Japanese dragonsonly have 3 claws – Chinese may have up to 5 claws.

For the Horse Netsuke

7. What animal is shown?

A horse.

8. This is a metal copy (brass and gold pate) of one in the display case. Can you find the original?

Larger, carved from ivory.


9. What could this be used for?

Explain the purpose of a netsuke in the ‘system’ of inro, ojime, and netsuke.

Ask similar questions as for the inro, using the examples in the display case to illustrate.

10. Horses were an important symbol. Why?

Important as work horses, and for transportation, and in religion.

Many shrines kept a sacred white horse. It was worshipped as a symbol of the ancient Shinto ritualof confession and purification. They were well groomed, beautifully bridled, adorned with colouredand gold ornaments and led by anciently-attired attendants at the head of shrine festival processions.

Horse is the 7th year of the 12 year zodiac calendar. If your birth year is the first year (the year of therat) then the 7th year after one’s birth year is considered lucky. Women born in the 1st year of thehorse, cycle of fire, known as the fire horse year are considered husband devourers and marriage forthem is difficult to arrange, especially in country districts. The popular superstition is that husbandsmarried to women born in the Fire Horse Year are fated to die young. Fortunately the fire horse yearonly occurs once every 60 years.

Revised: April 3, 2007 Page 1 of 8



Prince Takamado Gallery of Japanese Art

Introduction

Prince Takamado was the late cousin of the present emperor, Akihito. He attended Queens University inKingston, Ontario and was a collector of Inuit art.

The gallery aims to convey the Japanese way of viewing and expressing beauty.

Since ancient times, the Japanese have found beauty in the small, the fine, the minute, and stress thebeauty of rusticity, asymmetry and imperfection. Another distinctive feature of Japanese art is theemphasis on human emotions in terms such as a battle-tales, love stories, folktales, etc.

One of the most significant influences on Japanese art is the fact that Japan is an island country. Atvarious times it has opened its doors to foreign ideas and artistic expressions; at other times it has closedits doors to external influences.

Throughout its history, Japan received waves of influence from China and Korea, and later, from theWest. However, Japanese aesthetic expression was formed on principles quite different from those ofother cultures. Foreign ideas were quickly reworked into a uniquely Japanese statement.

Other influences were religion – Buddhism had a profound effect after it was introduced in 532 AD – viavisual arts, such as architecture, sculpture and wall paintings. Shintoism, which stresses the relationshipbetween nature and human beings, also was a major force.

Japanese art is often contradictory, embracing the qualities of subtlety and boldness, delicacy and vitality,balance and asymmetry; it stresses the interaction of nature, art and daily life, and emphasizes thebeauty of rusticity and imperfection. It is a fusion of the traditional and the innovative.


Pronunciation Guidelines

Each vowel is pronounced in Japanese.Each syllable is given equal value.In general, each syllable starts with a consonant.

A = ah E = eh I = ee O = oh U = oo

Daimyo = dime-yoEdo = eh-dohE-shino = eh-shee-nohFuruta Oribe = foo-roo-tah oh-ri-behHamada shoji = hah-mah-dah shoh-geeHizen = hee-zenHokusai = hoh-koo-sigh or hohk-sighKaiseki = kye-seh-keeKaishi = kye-sheeKakiemon style = kah-kee-mohnKinran-de = keen-rahn-dehKo-imari = koh-ee-mah-reeKo-kutani = koh-koo-tah-neeKobori enshu = koh-boh-ree ehn-shooKyoto = kyoh-tohMaki-e = mah-kee-ehManaita = mah-nah-ee-tahMeiji = may-geeMomoyama = moh-moh-yah-mahMuromachi = moo-roh-mah-cheeMushanokuji = moo-shah-noh-koo-geeNabeshima = nah-beh-shee-mahOnodera Gen = oh-noh-deh-rah jehnSamurai = sah-moo-ryeSatsuma = sah-tsoo-mahSen-no Rikyu = sehn-noh ree-kyooShigaraki = shee-gah-rah-keeShimaoka Tatsuzo = shee-mah-oh-kah tah-tsoo-zohShogun = shoh-goonTokonoma = toh-koh-noh-mahTokugawa = toh-koo-gah-wahTokyo = toh-kyohUkiyo-e = oo-kee-yoh-ehYamagami Soju = yah-mah-gah-mee soh-juu

Religion in Japan

Japan cannot be characterized as a country of any single religion, such as Catholic Italy or MuslimPakistan. It is a country of several religions. Most Japanese are counted as twofold believers and thestatistics add up to more than the population. They are sufficiently tolerant of Buddhism and Shintoismand participate in the rituals of both. A third force, Confucianism, lives peacefully between these two.

Shintoism is seen today in the 7-5-3 rites of November 15th. Boys aged five and three, and girls agedseven and three are dressed in their best and presented at a shrine. Shintoism also has a virtualmonopoly on weddings. However, the ceremonies associated with the dead are largely Buddhist.


Zen Buddhism

Zen, a sect of Buddhism, was born in India, developed in China and came to Japan in the Kamakuraperiod during the feudal era. It has a history of over 2500 years. Nowadays, this heritage of the Orienthas declined in both India and China, but continues in Japan.

The purpose of Zen training is to find spiritual awakening, by sitting down for meditation, as did Buddhaand entering into a perfect state of spiritual concentration.

The four basic principles of Zen Buddhism are Harmony, Respect, Purity and Tranquility.

Zen had a profound influence on the arts – architecture, gardens, the Noh drama, brush painting, poetry(haiku), calligraphy and the tea ceremony – lighted by the vision of the quiet behind the tumultuous anddoing away with all superficial ornamentation.

Pure Land Sect

The Pure Land Sect (Jodo) of Buddhism is the main belief of those who believe that if they invoke thename of Amida Nyorai in good faith, they will be admitted to his Paradise, “nembetsu”, the Land of PerfectBliss. There are no priests or ceremonies. It was especially dominant in the Heian and following periods.Amida Nyorai is one of the idealized Buddhas whose Paradise in the west is called the Pure Land.

Shintoism

Two religions have deeply permeated Japanese life since early times – Buddhism and the indigenousreligion of Shinto.

Shintoism, “the way of the gods”, is a simple animism, a religion of thankfulness for the bounty andbeauty of a kindly nature.

Fertility beliefs play a large part. Shinto priests, in their function as exorcists and in performingceremonies of cleansing and ritual abstention, are related to the shamans of Korea and northeast Asia.The deep-rooted attitudes of Shintoism have left a distinguishing mark on Japanese art, and sometimesresult in fundamental differences from that of China.

In Shintoism, there is a multitude of gods (kami = superior, upper) – something superior and with specialqualities of good and evil. To the early Japanese, the visible and invisible worlds were peopled withpowerful influences. In early chronicles, there were deities who swarmed and buzzed like flies, and treesand rocks that could speak. The Japanese felt that all perceptible objects were in some way living,harboring a spirit, though it is too vague and various for simple definition.

The history of Shintoism is a history of the development of these inchoate ideas into an institutionalizedreligion. Divinity was ascribed not only to the powerful and awe-inspiring, such as the sun, moon and thetempest, but also to the lovely and pleasant, such as rocks and trees and flowers, and to the useful suchas the well and the cooking pot.

The purpose of early religion rites was to praise and thank as much as to placate and mollify thedivinities. It is an expression of the manifold forms of life.

The outstanding feature of Shinto observances is the attention paid to ritual purity. Things which areoffensive to the gods should be avoided – e.g. uncleanliness which included death.


Table of Japanese Art Periods

Time Span Art Period Name and Pronunciation

Prior to the midth-6th century AD Pre-Buddhist538 – 645 Asuka – ah-soo-kah645 – 794 Nara – nah-rah645 – 710 Early Nara – Hakuho – hah-koo-hoh710 – 794 Late Nara – Tempyo – tem-pyoh794 – 1185 Heian – hay-ahn794 – 897 Early Heian – Jogan – joh-gahn897 – 1185 Late Heian – Fujiwara – foo-gee-wah-rah1185 – 1334 Kamakura – kah-mah-koo-rah1334 – 1392 Nambokucho – nahm-boh-koo-choh1392 – 1573 Muromachi – moo-roh-mah-chee – Ashikaga – ah-shee-ka-ga1573 – 1615 Momoyama – moh-moh-yah-mah1615 – 1868 Edo – eh-doh – Tokugawa – toh-koo-gah-wah1615 – 1716 Early Edo1716 – 1868 Late Edo1868 – now Modern Japan1868 – 1912 Meiji – may-gee1912 – 1926 Taisho – tie-sho1926 – 1989 Showa – shoh-wah1989 – now Heisei – hay-say

A Brief History of Japan

The Japanese derive the name of their country from a Chinese phrase meaning “the source of the sun”.The word “Japan” comes from Marco Polo’s attempt to render the Chinese pronunciation in Italian, afterhis return from China in the 13th century. The Japanese usually give the characters a sound that isrendered in English as “Nihon” (nee-hohn).

No traces of a paleolithic culture have yet been found in Japan, but two main types of neolithic culture are“jomon” (“rope pattern type” pottery), circa 10500-300 BC, and “yayoi” (a type of pottery found near a siteof that name), circa 300 BC – 300 AD.

660 BC marks the founding of the Japanese Empire by Emperor Jimmu.

Buddhism was introduced in 532 AD from Korea and China, with images of the Buddha and volumes ofscriptures, which resulted in the building of temples with wooden and bronze statues and religious sceneson doors and panels.

The period before 552 AD is known as the Archaic period and is marked by ancient Shinto clay figurescalled Haniwa.

Japanese artisans were strongly influenced by the Chinese who in turn were influenced by the arts ofIndia, Greece and Byzantium, passed along the caravan routes.

Asuka Period – 552 – 645

Buddhism gained strength. Many artists came from Korea and China. Probably most of themasterpieces of this period were by foreign artists. Advances were made in metalwork.


Hakuko Period – 645 – 710

Was a transitional period in which Japanese arts made rapid strides and artists copied Tang models inreligion, law, ceremony and costume. Sculptures of clay, modeled over wood, were popular. Capitalmoved to Nara.

Nara Period – 645 – 794

Sculpture of this time reveals a strong direct Chinese influence coupled with technical mastery – mostlyimages of divine personages, but also some semi-secular or quasi-religious art in the form of carvedmasks for which no parallel can be found.

The period saw the building of monasteries, multistoried pagodas, temples with giant Buddhas in bronzeand dry lacquer, and the oldest preserved scrolls and folding screens.

In pictorial art, the most important is mural painting, which clearly owe their inspiration to Indian models.

The Tempyo Period (725 – 794) was the Golden Age of Buddhist art in Japan. The Japanese were nowmasters in their own right. Tempyo art might be described as a slightly conservative reflection of Tangart, but revealing an unmistakable native character.

In 741 AD, Buddhism became the state religion.

Heian Period – 794 – 1185

Capital moved from Nara to Nagaoka (later Kyoto) in 794.

Konin Period (794 – 894)

During this period, there are signs of the expansion of secular art but Buddhism remains the chiefinspiration in architecture, sculpture and painting, though they followed a new trend. The divinities wereof a different nature, a new iconography, with a rigidly prescribed form. Thus the statuary of the 9th

century suffers from a lack of spontaneity which is more marked because bronze and dry lacquer arereplaced by wood, which demands masterful handling.

The Heian Period sees the beginning of landscape painting and of calligraphy, and the publication of theworld’s first great novel, “The Tale of Genji” (“Genji Monogatari”).

Fujiwara Period (894 – 1185)

This was an age of luxury and profusion. The characteristic Japanese love of nature asserted itself. Thedesign of gardens and landscape painting came into vogue, so that even in Buddhist paintings, celestialbeings were often painted against a background of rocks, trees and flowers. By 900, the Tang dynastywas tottering and Chinese influence was on the wane. The lofty and severe gave way to the tender andgraceful.

The most interesting feature of Fujiwara art is the growth of hereditary schools of sculpture and paintingand an early stage in the development of a purely Japanese style of painting, yamato-e, occurred. Greatprogress was made in lacquering and metalwork.

Kamakura Period – 1185 – 1333

This period saw the growth of feudalism and the dominance of the military class. Religion underwent aprofound change with the decline of the patrician society, which had fostered Buddhism, largely as anaesthetic cult, and the rise of the military class. As Buddhism became popular, it tended to assume amore Japanese complexion. With the rise of the Zen sect, there is a new style of Zen architecture.


This is the golden age of sculpture in the greatest sculptor is Unkei, whose work is distinguished forlifelike energy. It is extremely vigorous and yet simple, leaning to the use of plain wood, and not relyingon color or other forms of decoration. Some of the best work of this period is portrait statuary of a vividrealism.

Painting shows further realism and subject matter is not necessarily religious, but has religious intent.The famous “Nachi Waterfall”, work of a 13th century monk, is one of the finest landscape paintings in theworld and illustrates the bond between religious sentiments and love of nature. Portrait painting is verymuch in vogue and some large portraits were painted in color on silk.

The period is noted for the great number and variety of e-makimono (colored picture scrolls) with narrativecontent.

Warfare promoted metalworking, because there was a need for fine swords and armour.

Philosophy may be said to have promoted ceramics fashion among the Zen believers as an aid to theirmeditative vigils and from this the tea ceremony sprang. Ornamented glazed tea jars, incense burners,etc. were made by Toshiro who went to China to study pottery in the 13 th century and is known as theFather of the art in Japan. On his return, he set up a kiln in Seto. The modern word for porcelain is Seto-mono, the ware of Seto.

Japanese lacquerware becomes popular in Europe.

Muromachi Period –1333 – 1568

This is the Age of Compromise as the liking for modernity grew into a “craze” (Ima Meku means to have amodern air).

Trade with China and Korea was encouraged and saw the arrival of celadon ware. Portuguese tradersarrived from the West (circa 1542), as did Jesuit friars (1549), and the Spanish missionary, St. FrancisXavier (1549). Copper, sulphur, fans and lacquerware, and weapons were traded by the Japanese toChina for copper coins, iron, textiles and embroideries, pictures, books and drugs.

Zen Buddhism flourished. Shintoism survived, though it was overshadowed by Buddhism.

Architecture, painting and literature all took a secular turn, and there was a passion for things Chinese – adesire for exotic things. Black-and-white painting was inspired by Zen.

In ceramics, Raku is developed as are more efficient kilns and glazes.

Great screen painters of the Kano school flourished, covering great panels of silk or paper with decorativecompositions which show boldness of stroke and brilliance of design.

Among the most important figures of this period is Sen Rikyu, an expert in flower arranging, a tea masterand an arbiter of taste. Under his influence, styles of severe beauty were encouraged in the arts, notablyin ceramics for the Tea Ceremony. On an expedition to Korea, the Japanese were struck by theexcellence of Korean porcelain and faience and a number of Korean artisans were invited to Japan,where they set up kilns. It is the beginning of such celebrated wares as Satsuma, Nabeshima,Yatsushiro, Imari, etc.

Great importance has always been attached in Japan to the inheritance of occupations, not only tradersand artisans, but also among painters, poets, historians, lawyers and even philosophers. If there were nosuitable successors, the recourse was adoption.


Azuchi-Momoyama Period – 1568 – 1615

By this time, Kyoto was in ruins and the members of the old society were living indigent and secludedlives. The severe canons of Zen were replaced by those in which gold glittered, colour came back intopictures, and the arts veered towards the Japanese equivalent of rococo and baroque.

Japanese adventurers traveled far and wide and brought back cargoes that wrought certain changes inJapan – Christianity (stupendous in its first effect), tobacco, potatoes, pumpkins, and watermelon.Portuguese costume became ‘all the rage’ as did the use of Portuguese words.

There is a new type of castle architecture, lavishly decorated with gold leaf screens, pillars with red andblack lacquer and paintings by great artists like Kano Eitoku. However it was the applied sciences thatmade the most impression – astronomy, cartography, shipbuilding, mining and metallurgy.

Edo (Yedo) or Tokugawa Period – 1615 – 1868

Japan, at the beginning of this period, was still a feudal society, under the Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa(died 1616). Edo (later Tokyo) became the stronghold and the greatest city in Japan.

Cessation of intercourse with the West began after Christianity was driven underground. In 1623, theBritish trading station was closed, followed in 1624 by the expulsion of the Spaniards, and the Portuguesein 1638. By 1640, there were no foreigners in Japan, except for certain authorized Chinese and a handfulof Dutch. For over 200 years a trickle of foreign goods and ideas were the only communication with theworld at large. In 1637, no Japanese was allowed to leave the country, and having left, could not return.

The Japanese turned their minds in upon themselves and evolved nothing but elaborations andrefinements of their own culture. The most serious handicap of these policies was a lack of economicexpansion.

During a short period called Genroku (1688 – 1703), the townspeople had most of the money andenjoyed the pleasures their money could buy. Artistic matters were more widely diffused, and were nolonger in the hands of a limited class, the foundation of whose learning was Chinese. Artistic expressionshowed a more truly native spirit.

The “Floating World” (ukiyo) was the centre of the arts - a world of fugitive pleasures, theatre, restaurants,actors, dancers and singers, jesters and courtesans. It is this life that is depicted in popular novels andpaintings of the day – ukiyo-e.

The old forms followed by the samurai and ruling class continued, rather lifelessly, in buildings, paintingsand poetry. Religious sculpture fell on evil days except for ornamental wood carving, which reached anincredible point of dexterity - best suited to personal ornaments of the Floating World. Painting tended todull repetitions, but was saved by several artists who were incomparable painters of birds and flowers,great artists in lacquer, and, of course, the great woodblock artists Utamaro, Hokusai, and Hiroshige.

The Buddhist Church as an institution seems to have been unsuited to the temper of the times, and therewas a return to Confucianism, and as a reaction to this, Shintoism became more popular.

In 1732 and 1783, there were severe famines in Japan, followed by agrarian riots which resulted in abreakdown of the rice economy and the blurring of classes.

In 1791 – 1792, American and Russian ships visited Japan and in 1854, Commodore Perry signed atreaty between Japan and the USA

In 1867 – 1868, feudalism was abolished and the monarchy was restored.


Meiji Period – 1868 – 1912

The waning of interest in Western art styles and techniques continued and an individual, aestheticallyJapanese mode of expression began. European and American artists studied Japanese arts and crafts,and there developed a craze for things Japanese, known as ‘japonisme’. Artists such as van Gogh,Degas, Whistler and Gauguin were strongly influenced.

In 1873, baseball was introduced to Japan.

In 1889, a constitution was promulgated and the Diet was established in 1890.

Taisho Period – 1912 – 1926

Yoshito became emperor and freedom of expression ended and artistic efforts were strictly regulated. In1921, Yoshito became ill and until his death in 1926, Hirohito was regent.

Showa Period – 1926 – 1989

Hirohito became emperor. Following World War II, Japan was occupied by the Americans until 1952,when independence was restored.

Heisei Period – 1989 – Now

Emperor Akihito.

Documents

Royal Ontario Museum Department of Museum Volunteers Gallery … Japanese Inro Ojime... · 2011-09-03 · Horses – Chinese The Chinese also loved horses and in the early years horses